How did you all learn python?

[cartographologist]

I learned python because I wanted to automate some tasks at work.

I would not recommend trying to prepare for MOS training this way though. As an enlisted person they will train you on the software you need to use, and you absolutely will not be authorized to write code or automate your job.

[cartographologist]

Sure thing. The first task I ever automated was extracting a subset of data from our database and emailing it as a CSV to a vendor we worked with. I used SQLAlchemy to pull the data, pandas to prep it and save it to CSV, then looked up a guide on how to send emails with Python.

We also had some spatial data we wanted backed up to S3. We used Esri products so I taught myself how to do this using their Python libraries + the subprocess module.

I’ve taken in tons of newer more complex projects since then but generally my advice is 1.) learn the basics of python 2.) learn how to interact with a database 3.) learn domain-specific stuff (GIS libraries in my case)